Throughout his life, Forster stressed the importance of individuality and good will, emphasizing his belief in humanity's potential for self-improvement. Forster became an active member of a movement of writers and thinkers known as the Bloomsbury Group, a number of intellectuals defined in part by their radical opposition to Victorian traditions and manners. Included among the other members of the group were Virginia Woolf.
After gaining fame as a novelist, Forster spent his 46 remaining years publishing mainly short stories and non-fiction.
A Room With a View The book depicts Lucy's struggles as she emerges as her own woman, growing from indecision to fulfillment. She struggles between strict, old-fashioned Victorian values and newer, more liberal mores. In this struggle Lucy's own idea of what is true evolves and matures. Her trip to Italy opens her sheltered eyes to ideas and people unlike those she has known growing up in the English countryside. She also notices how freely Italian classes seem to mix, and realizes that the social boundaries she has always regarded as fixed are actually arbitrary. Her experience with the Emersons shows her that there can be beauty in the things that are considered improper, and Charlotte's betrayal shows her that propriety is not always the best judge of what is true.
Having more clearly found herself in Italy, Lucy's real test lies at home, where she must confront her old familiar surroundings. She is still uncertain, however, and confused about what to think about her new experiences. That she missteps and becomes engaged to the pretentious and domineering Cecil shows her susceptibility to the pressures of society. As her bold piano playing suggests, she is cut out for a more daring life, if only she could cut herself away from the restricting social boundaries that engulf her. The Emersons, as free-thinking, modern, truth-loving people, are her deliverers from the grips of society. It is this freedom that allows her to see beyond the dictates of propriety that forbid her marriage to the lower-class George and, therefore, to follow her heart.
George is troubled by existential worries in Italy. He doesn't understand how life can be truly joyful and worthwhile when it is always shadowed by enigma, symbolized by the question mark that he hangs on the wall of his hotel. Lucy, though cautious, is loving by nature and enjoys life even when it challenges her understanding. The two are united by a shared appreciation for beauty, which might be captured in their love of views: Lucy adores the view of the Arno through the pension window, while George's first memory is of himself and his parents gazing at a view. Each possesses what the other needs: George finds simple joys staying with the Honeychurch family, while Lucy finds the courage to recognize her own individuality through her contact with the Emersons. A Room with a View is one of Forster's early works, and is not as complex as the more mature Passage to India. However, its strength lies in its vivid cast of characters, humorous dialogue, and comedic play upon the manners of the day, and in Forster's engaging, sympathetic exploration of Lucy's character. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuaqCyjMXQs&feature=related
Edward Morgan Forster (1879- 1970)
Throughout his life, Forster stressed the importance of individuality and good will, emphasizing his belief in humanity's potential for self-improvement. Forster became an active member of a movement of writers and thinkers known as the Bloomsbury Group, a number of intellectuals defined in part by their radical opposition to Victorian traditions and manners. Included among the other members of the group were Virginia Woolf.After gaining fame as a novelist, Forster spent his 46 remaining years publishing mainly short stories and non-fiction.
A Room With a View
The book depicts Lucy's struggles as she emerges as her own woman, growing from indecision to fulfillment. She struggles between strict, old-fashioned Victorian values and newer, more liberal mores. In this struggle Lucy's own idea of what is true evolves and matures. Her trip to Italy opens her sheltered eyes to ideas and people unlike those she has known growing up in the English countryside. She also notices how freely Italian classes seem to mix, and realizes that the social boundaries she has always regarded as fixed are actually arbitrary. Her experience with the Emersons shows her that there can be beauty in the things that are considered improper, and Charlotte's betrayal shows her that propriety is not always the best judge of what is true.
Having more clearly found herself in Italy, Lucy's real test lies at home, where she must confront her old familiar surroundings. She is still uncertain, however, and confused about what to think about her new experiences. That she missteps and becomes engaged to the pretentious and domineering Cecil shows her susceptibility to the pressures of society. As her bold piano playing suggests, she is cut out for a more daring life, if only she could cut herself away from the restricting social boundaries that engulf her. The Emersons, as free-thinking, modern, truth-loving people, are her deliverers from the grips of society. It is this freedom that allows her to see beyond the dictates of propriety that forbid her marriage to the lower-class George and, therefore, to follow her heart.
George is troubled by existential worries in Italy. He doesn't understand how life can be truly joyful and worthwhile when it is always shadowed by enigma, symbolized by the question mark that he hangs on the wall of his hotel. Lucy, though cautious, is loving by nature and enjoys life even when it challenges her understanding. The two are united by a shared appreciation for beauty, which might be captured in their love of views: Lucy adores the view of the Arno through the pension window, while George's first memory is of himself and his parents gazing at a view. Each possesses what the other needs: George finds simple joys staying with the Honeychurch family, while Lucy finds the courage to recognize her own individuality through her contact with the Emersons.
A Room with a View is one of Forster's early works, and is not as complex as the more mature Passage to India. However, its strength lies in its vivid cast of characters, humorous dialogue, and comedic play upon the manners of the day, and in Forster's engaging, sympathetic exploration of Lucy's character.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuaqCyjMXQs&feature=related
A Passage to India
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRD3jxIL1xU&feature=related
Themes
The Difficulty of English-Indian Friendship
The Unity of All Living Things
The “Muddle” of India
The Negligence of British Colonial Government